dbcve.org
Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication · Arm

CVE-2022-28350

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver allows improper GPU operations in Valhall r29p0 through r36p0 before r37p0 to reach a use-after-free situation.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver for Valhall GPUs. Improper GPU operations in versions r29p0 through r36p0 allow an attacker to trigger a use-after-free condition, potentially leading to privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution in the kernel context.

MitigationUpdate the Arm Mali GPU kernel driver to version r37p0 or later. Device manufacturers should apply the vendor patch through system updates.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Valhall Gpu Kernel DriverApplication
Affected:>= r29p0, <= r36p0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Arm Mali GPU hardware present
    Check system hardware: on Linux run 'lspci | grep -i mali' or examine /sys/class/misc/ for mali entries, or check /dev/mali0 existence. On Android, check /proc/gpu or use 'lshw' utility.
    Affected if No Arm Mali GPU is detected in the system - the vulnerability only applies to devices with Arm Mali Valhall GPUs.
  2. Locate the Mali kernel driver module
    On Linux, list loaded kernel modules with 'lsmod | grep -i mali' to find the active driver (common names include mali_kbase, mali, or mali_kbase.ko). Note the module name for version checking.
    Affected if The Mali GPU driver is not loaded - without the driver loaded, the kernel-level vulnerability cannot be triggered.
  3. Retrieve the installed driver version
    Run 'modinfo <mali_module_name>' (e.g., 'modinfo mali_kbase') and look for the 'version' or 'vermagic' field. Alternatively, check /sys/module/<mali_module_name>/version if it exists.
    Affected if Unable to determine the driver version - the version is required to compare against the affected range.
  4. Compare version against affected range
    Compare the retrieved version string against the affected versions r29p0 through r36p0. The version format typically appears as 'rXXp0' (e.g., r30p0, r35p0, r36p0).
    Affected if The installed version falls within r29p0 through r36p0 (inclusive) - versions outside this range (before r29p0 or r37p0 and later) are not affected by this specific CVE.

The environment is affected if the system contains an Arm Mali Valhall GPU with the kernel driver loaded and the driver version is between r29p0 and r36p0 inclusive.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the Arm Mali GPU kernel driver to version r37p0 or later. Device manufacturers should apply the vendor patch through system updates.

Recommended fix High confidence

r37p0 or later

  1. Obtain the Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver version r37p0 or later from developer.arm.com or your device/system integrator
  2. Update the GPU kernel driver to r37p0 or newer version following your system integrator's or Arm's documentation
  3. Reboot the system or restart the GPU kernel module to apply the updated driver
  4. Verify the driver version is r37p0 or later using 'cat /sys/class/misc/mali0/device/driver/version' or equivalent command for your system

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Valhall Gpu Kernel Driver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,120
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-28350 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data